The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona is the biggest aircraft graveyard in the world.
“The Boneyard” as it is often called was created in 1946 to store some surplus DoD and navy planes but eventually grew to become the storage area for all out-of-service U.S. government aircraft.
It contains over 4000 aircraft including bombers, fighters like the F15 Eagle and F14 Tomcat, huge military transport planes like the C5a Galaxy, helicopters, jump jets as well as unique prototypes which never made it into service.
Interesting Facts about the Boneyard
- Some aircraft are stored for possible reuse, metal reclamation and others to be stripped for spare parts eg: forAustralia’s F-111 strike aircraft
- The climate at Tucson is friendly to aircraft with hard alkaline soil for them to move around on, low humidity and low rainfall. In fact the facility is so good at what it does that for every $1 the US government spends operating the facility, it saves or produces $11
- Under the terms of the Strategic Arms Reduction talks over 300 B-52 bombers had their wings cut from the fuselage and laid out in the Boneyard as evidence for Soviet satellites passing overhead
- The Boneyard doesn’t just store aircraft. It also stores inactive Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads
Visit the Boneyard
Public tours of the Boneyard are arranged by the adjacent Pima Air & Space Museum. At the time of writing this adult tickets were a mere $US 6.
Advance reservations are strongly recommended to guarantee seating. To make an AMARG tour reservation call PIMA and ask for the reservation desk.
You will need to check in at the Pima Air & Space Museum Store no later than 30 minutes prior to tour departure time or your reservation may be subject to cancellation. The tour bus boards at the Museum entrance.
Tours are given Monday through Friday (excluding US federal holidays) and last approximately one hour. Departure times are seasonal. Please call for current times.
More Information
Click on the image and Zoom in using “Birds Eye View” to view the planes really close up using Microsoft Maps
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Hi, interesting find.
Are you saying that the US stores aircraft in this “boneyard” then Australia buys some of these fighters for our national defence? I know we don’t have a huge defence budget, but buying planes from an American aircraft graveyard???
Thank you Neerav,
I had seen a program on the boneyard years ago. What an incredible place. Nice to know that our F-111s can be kept in the air by using Boneyard ‘offcuts’.
Cheers,
Mark
Hi Neerav,
Great Find.
It is an amazing sight to see for an aircraft enthusiast like me. Do they allow camping overnight? I don’t think I would be able to digest the entire trip in one day
Keep up the good work
EDITOR: No you can’t camp there, only do the bus tour – good idea though
That is way cool. I was in Tucson 4 months ago and I wish I knew about this then. I would have like to have gone on a tour for sure.
Hah that’s a fun picture. Looks like a kid was playing in the dirt with some toy planes.
wow, that overhead photo is crazy. Never have I seen so many planes in one location… They almost look like they’re laid out in a certain way as “art”
If you’re looking for a much closer view have a look at Microsoft Maps aerial view of the boneyard:
I’ve been there. It’s just crazy. The planes go on forever.
amazing! this place looks ace!
This would be a neat place to visit! 4000 aircraft is a lot to see. Can you go inside any of the planes?
I was just wondering if you can purchase any of the planes from the boneyard?
Yeah that is a HUGE aircraft.
It will quite be quite a visual to see so many aircrafts of all sizes around – def make it a pt. to see the facility if around..
I must say. I have found some of the most obscure, yet very intersting posts on “the Road Less Travelled” blog. We lived in Tucson for 10 years and this is the first I am hearing of this. Perhaps we’ll have to go back someday as tourists and see the other half of Tucson!
That place takes forever to drive around. The kids love it though. “Look at the planes! look at the planes!”
We are interested in purchase of some airplanes from the graveyard for setting up a museum of old planes in the Baltic republics.Please let us know the process or guide us to a company who can advise us to purchase for museum.
It must be kind of eery to walk about there amongst all the retired aircraft.
Love to make two seater, tandem style aluminum bodied commuter car like the “Carver” from all that scrap aluminum! Seems like a surplus to me, al it does is collect sun? Put it to good use Yankee Doodle! Build ultralight commuters from it, save on imported oil costs, and help the poor saps in the ‘burbs pay down their McMansion mortgages! go on, Bugs, Do it, it won’t hurt! Promise!
Any of the planes in the graveyard available for sale? I would like to make a 747 into a house on our acreage.
Jeff
Is it possible to buy a plane without the wings attached so a house can be made from it to live in too include the tires to get it to a location. A nice 747 would be cool.
Wish I can go there and bring one here to install a nearest children park as a symbol.
If I want to by a partial plane as a “souvenir” is it possible?
What would be the cost if i stay in Canada.
I was always interested in knowing.
Tank you!